Blu-ray Movie Reviews

After an accident on a winding road four teens make the fatal mistake of dumping their victim’s body into the sea. But exactly one year later the dead man returns from his watery grave and he's looking for more than an apology.

After the success of Scream it seemed like everyone was trying to make a whodunit again and this was one of the more popular ones. The film cast just about every up and coming young “good looking” actor and actress and had enough twists and turns to keep you moderately interested. While I can’t say it is one of my big picks for thrills, it does a good job for what it is.

Sony does a great job with the video presentation of the catalog release. Their consistency with video transfers over the last year is commendable and almost makes writing them up a bore. The image has a nice balance of detail and depth but the filming style does make the photography a little hit and miss in consistency. Contrast is good but not reference and depth and shadow detail do suffer from time to time. Colors are very natural in this presentation and the brighter sequences of the film look really good in balance and hue. Overall there was some slight room for improvement but the image quality has more to do with the photography style than the HD presentation itself.

Presented in Dolby TrueHD 5.1, the soundtrack is a cookie-cutter attempt at a thriller sound design. There are plenty of quick transients meant to get your butt off the seat and your significant other to scream. The soundstage does have a nice open quality to it and I liked the use of the surrounds to add to the tension and ambiance of the environments. Dialogue sounds a bit boxed in from time to time but overall the voice work was natural in imaging and timbre. While not the most effective thriller soundtrack, not too much to complain about here.

Extras include a feature commentary with the director plus a short film he did before this one. You also get an inside look at the film including interviews and behind the scenes promo fluff. A music video and the trailer are also included. This title is BD-Live enabled so those with a capable player can download some extra supplements as well.

Sony does a great job with this catalog teen favorite and the A/V presentation is the best I’ve seen for the film. While I can’t call myself the biggest fan of this one, I know its intended audience will be more than pleased.